3 New Summer Reading Titles From Linda Ragsdale Your Kiddos Will Love #Giveaway

Many thanks to Media Masters for sending me products to review. All thoughts shared are my own.

We made it to the end of the school year and SUMMER time is quickly approaching! I have a lot of thoughts about this time of year since I have two little boys who will be entering 2nd and 3rd grade next Fall. For our family, reading is an important part of life and just because school is ending doesn't mean we will be putting down the books! Linda Ragsdale's new titles are the perfect way to kick off summer reading!

With so many books out there to choose from, sometimes the hardest thing to do is finding the right book for your child. I'm going to share about three new books that are each different in their own way but offer valuable lessons and inspirational messages for the young reader to take away!

Here is an excerpt about the author, Linda Ragsdale and her book, "The Peace Dragon":

Award winning Author, illustrator and international speaker/teacher Linda Ragsdale shares how the powerful skills of View, Voice and Choice can lead people through the more challenging parts of their lives with a peaceful and productive outcome. As a survivor of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, her physically devastating wound validates her message of empathy and compassion over retaliation or resentment. Her work in peace education has led her around the world, empowering over 37,000 students to see and speak with a new voice, and an expanded capability of choice. These same tenets of peace offered her a safe journey through breast cancer, finding treasures within the moments of darkness. Whether the terrorist comes from outside or within, Ragsdale believes peace offers a balanced journey through every challenging event. She was recently honored with the a 2017 nomination for the Peace Educator award from the El-Hibri Foundation.

Currently, The Peace Dragon is her vehicle to bring peace to the world, though it isn’t her first entrepreneurial adventure. As a designer, her first design company won her three awards for her novelty in design and manufacturing from the Point of Purchase Advertising Institute. With a kick of her foot, Ragsdale turned a moment of anger into a patented pop-up display design. Expanding her view from design and production, her second venture, a marketing and manufacturing firm, created the first video retail sweepstakes kits with scratch and win cards and awardable prizes. Her third company took triple-layer cardboard out of the food industry and into home décor products. Her fun and funky designs caught the eye of publishers, giving her vision a voice.

My 8 year old son Landon really loved The Peace Dragon. I think it's a book we will both come back to time and time again just to see the beautiful illustrations and read the inspiring story. Approaching every situation with a spirit of peace and love is a very fine way to live our lives and I absolutely am a fan of a book that is teaching my kiddos this very thing.

This is Landon when he picked up The Peace Dragon to read intently for the very first time. He didn't look up from the pages and when he closed the last page, he smiled and said, "I liked that a lot. This is a good book." The smile didn't fade!

He shared the book with his younger brother who is almost 7 and becoming an excellent reader in his own right! I think as parents, most of us would probably say that we want our kiddos to develop a LOVE for reading. They have a lot of required reading to do for school assignments and the like, but are they reading for enjoyment too?

If your kids are between the ages of 5 and 8 and are beginning to explore literature but have not yet shown a passion for reading, that's ok! Do not despair and please be encouraged. Kids are all so different and these books are also perfect for a "being read to" moment that you can share in as well.

If you're interested in checking out these amazing books, there is going to be a giveaway! Stay tuned as I'll be sharing about that at the end.

"Follow along as a mood pesters a young boy and ends up rubbing off on all those around him. After a frustrating day under his version of a little dark cloud, he discovers that ultimately working through your feelings and emotions begins with you. The wordless pages inspire readers to "read" the story as they apply their own interpretations to the young boy's plight."

-The Brain Storm

The Brain Storm has no text, but the pictures tell a tale that will be up to the reader to decide what exactly is going on. I think sometimes feelings and thoughts are hard to express for our little ones and often times can feel like a big jumbled mess and that's ok! They are not alone.

Positively Purple is a beautiful book about being content just to be YOU!

PB and Jeli are best bear friends. They play ball together every single day, until the day Jeli gets sick. After the doctor prescribes medication, Jeli begins to feel better but to her surprise, the medication turns her fur purple! With the help of her colorful and caring friends, Jeli learns that there is more to who you are than what shows on the outside. And that maybe being positively purple is positively perfect!

Positively Purple explores the power of empathy and friendship in building a child's self-esteem. Self acceptance is a strong theme running through the story, with a clear message that change in your appearance does not change how your friends feel about you.

Isn't this just an amazing story? I love this book so much and am going to try to read it to my kids often this summer. It's a message and a dialogue that I really desire to keep open in our household. We all have things about us that may appear to be different or even something that has perhaps changed. I think of my very good friend that has lost all of her hair due to chemotherapy treatment. She's the same beautiful person with or without hair because her beauty comes from her inner spirit that continues to shine no matter what physical changes may occur.

Teaching our kids to believe this is a priceless gift that we can give to them. Positively Purple is an excellent way to open up this conversation and encourage our kiddos to be accepting of everyone!

Want it? Get It!

Be sure to check out all three books on Amazon: The Peace Dragon, The Brain Storm and Positively Purple. You can also follow Linda Ragsdale on Facebook and check out The Peace Dragon's website to learn more about this amazing project! Also check out this YouTube video featuring Linda Ragsdale's Ted Talk.

Want It? Win It!

Thanks so much to Linda Ragsdale and our friends at Media Masters for sending this amazing prize pack to me to review! My kiddos and I have greatly enjoyed these beautiful books and goodies too.

Blessings,

Disclosure: We reserve the right to make revisions, to cancel, or suspend this contest for any reason. We are not associated with any of the companies named above. The odds of winning are based on the number of entries received Open to the US 18+ only. Confirmed Winner(s) (by Random.org) will be contacted by email. Winner(s) have 24 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. The sponsor(s) will be responsible for product shipment to winner(s) of this giveaway. Mommy's Block Party (and any other blog participating) is not responsible for product shipment/delivery. This event is in no way administered, sponsored, or endorsed by, or associated with, Facebook and/or Twitter, Google, Pinterest. This disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements. Entrants must only enter with either one email address, IP address and/or Facebook account, anyone found violating these rules will be disqualified. It is at the sole discretion of the admin of the giveaway if the winner has met the rules or not.

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